Nothing against the A Bolt. This was probably 15 years ago. Just didn't care for the look of the flat sided bolt and really like the CRF Model 70s. Really think that anyone that had an issue with the Winchester Rifles that were manufactured right before the time when Winchester went out of business and Browning picked them up got a raw deal. There was a labor dispute and Winchester went out of business. Was told that when the labor dispute was going on some firearms were not made to specifications. I can't and won't say that the rifle we purchased at the time was intentionally made at a lower standard, but when I sent the Model 70 back for repair to Browning, Browning refused to return the rifle back to us due to SAFETY issues. I could not even get the rifle back even if I wanted no repair and just wanted it back. I wanted it back and Browning would not release it. They said that it was already taken apart and no longer available. They probably thought that if I had the rifle back that I had physical evidence of an unsafe firearm and that I could file for a Law Suit against them. No rifle back to us-no evidence.While I feel your pain, an ABolt is not the worst choice in the world. I have one and while the barrels are rough and prone to copper fouling for the first couple of hundred rounds after that it is the gravy train. Expect around 150 to 200 round out of the box before it settles down and does less than 1 MOA. Keep the barrel clean, no copper fouling and it is a tack driver. Same action and barrel as the X bolt, just less expensive and shoots just as well.
I could say a lot more about the Labor Dispute and what went on at that time in Winchester, but there may be Winchester Union employees that worked there at this era and are on the Forum.
I just think that Winchester Firearms were some of the GREATEST rifles ever made and the people that made them were true craftsmen and craftswomen. It was sorry to see the company go out of business.